The second season of Insecure is about two weeks out and surprisingly, not many people know about this show. As in, why? Why are people sleeping on this? There are honestly very few shows this real.
Insecure invites you to get involved in its world because it effortlessly mirrors yours where nothing is going according to plan and you are slowly discovering that things aren’t perfect and they may never show is just brilliant. It’s one of those shows that effortlessly pulls you in. It literally took little effort for me to get seriously invested in the show and its characters. In no time at all, I was rooting for Issa and Lawrence; I got worried every single time Issa and Molly had a fight and I celebrated when they got over it. It also gives me that Atlanta vibe too; I hope y’all are watching Atlanta – that’s another brilliant comedy people don’t talk about enough (Golden Globe nominated and all).
The long and short of it is that Insecure REALISTICALLY tells the story of two modern black women, Issa and Molly. It deals with their ups, downs, dating, racial navigations, career and all the bullshit in between. A friend of mine just gave me an earful for not recommending this show to her earlier.
It’s an excellent show and here are all the reasons you should be watching Insecure:
Issa Rae
Issa Rae is breaking stereotypes and I’m loving it! She got her start on her critically acclaimed YouTube series – Awkward Black Gie series – Awkward Black Girl which I followed like a hawk. This brilliant lady deserves all the applause for her writing, her humour and her line delivery. Granted, she is simply playing an extension of her character in Awkward Black Girl but I’m not complaining. We really need more roles that show it’s okay for black women to be nerdy, awkward and without everything figured out – where’s the harm in that. Issa embodies her role in this show perfectly and it kinda makes you wonder if she is literally just playing an extension of herself.
Fine Black Men
A round of applause for the male cast of this show. Go ahead, take your time.
Specimen A: Jay Ellis
Ellis plays Issa’s boyfriend, Lawrence Walker, on the show – the couple has been together for years and they seem to have fallen into a bit of a rut, I guess (that’s one way to put it). We see them try to navigate that place where every long term couple has inevitably been.
However, even though their chemistry is great, I’m not as in love with the pair as I am in love with Molly and Jared. Jared is played by the hilarious comedian – Langston Kerman (somebody tell that fine man I am single). Yvonne does an amazing job with her character, Molly, so obviously I understand the reason for back and forth with Jared but seriously though – I’m hoping they make this happen; simply because I want to see more Langston on screen.
Then there’s Issa’s ex, Daniel King, played by Y’lan Noe – his beard just makes me happy.
Yvonne Orji & Jared’s Chemistry
Literally just addressed this, but it needed its own subheading. Can this two just get together and make beautiful black babies already?
Issa Rae’s different hairstyles
Naturalistas, come and get your hair-porn from the different ways Issa styles her TWA.
Complex, Well Rounded Characters
Special credit here goes to Yvonne Orji – she delivered in her role of Molly Carter many times over. Molly is a necessary role for women today because, and this is important, Molly is a career woman who does not have it all figured out. Most portrayals of career women on screen always seem to make sure they have all their shiznit figured out – yes, it gives women something to aspire to but guess what, when most girls get to a certain age and don’t achieve what they feel they should have, they feel broken. That is why this kinda roles are so necessary, because women and young people, in general, need to be reminded that it’s okay to move at your pace and not everyone’s else.
Molly plays a corporate lawyer who is slaying it in her career but having the HARDEST time finding love. Granted, most times (all the time) she self-sabotages but let’s be honest, who doesn’t self-sabotage every once in a while. I’m also guilty of this.
Molly is just one of several well written and realistically flawed characters in this series, same goes for Issa and Lawrence. They mess up a lot but in such a way that lets you root for them to get their shit together.
Representation
This one is simple, so I’ll just go straight into it. I love that their black characters don’t fit any stereotypes and are actually accurate representations of the other side of what it means to be young and black in today’s world.
Jidenna
Jidenna guest stars towards the middle of the first season. Quick question, who knew he could act? Also, at what point are we expected to retire the ‘Classic Man’ moniker, I hope never, I’m not ready. The classic man surprised everyone with his acting debut on Insecure as a guest star, bringing his A-game to the party.
Every time Neil Brown Jr showed up on screen
Seriously. Whether he is playing the douche bag version of his character or the friend who was there for his boy – Neil Brown Jr nailed every scene. I know this is a little out there, but I genuinely want to see him headline his own show, I think he’ll kill it.
There you go, there are about 9 reasons here why you should be watching Insecure ahead of the second season which airs on the 23rd of July.
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